Continuing the electrical and charging upgrade IP 31

[emergpa1]

2/0 is fine but you will still have some voltage drop at high charge rates so for best performance you still need proper volt sensing. As has been said alt should direct feed the battery bank not the "C" post of the switch otherwise volt sensing will not work correctly.

what about the pipes from the solar panels to the midnite kid charge controller? Are you saying that the charging cable from the alternator should go directly to the battery, not the red battery selector switch? Or does just the red "sense" wire from the balmar regulator have to go to the battery? I'm not following you on that. I thought the sense wire from the regulator to the battery controlled the alternator output. If so, what about ground cable from The alternator to the engine block.. Does it still go to the engine?

 

[Maine Sail]

what about the pipes from the panel to the charge controller?
And, your saying that the charging cable from the alternator should go directly to the battery, not the selector switch? Or just the sense wire from the balmar regulator. I'm not quit following you. If so, what about ground cable from the alternator. Does it still go to the engine?

Pipes from solar should be sized for minimal voltage drop. Aim for 1-2% max.

The alt + can be led to the switch but then the closest you can v-sense, on the + side, is the "C" post of the battery switch. This inhibits performance and still allows you to blow alternator diodes if inadvertently passing through OFF with the motor running.

With the system you have the only good way to wire it is direct to the battery bank. The negative 2/0 from the alt can be directly stacked on top of the main engine ground cable, which runs back to the battery bank, provided it is also 2/0... DO NOT use the engine metal as a path to the main engine ground. The two lugs need to be under the same bolt and physically mating with each other..

Where ever the alt + feeds to is the closest you can v-sense on the + side. This is why high performance alts are fed directly to the house bank, for the best performance...

 

[emergpa1]

Pipes from solar should be sized for minimal voltage drop. Aim for 1-2% max. The alt + can be led to the switch but then the closest you can v-sense, on the + side, is the "C" post of the battery switch. This inhibits performance and still allows you to blow alternator diodes if inadvertently passing through OFF with the motor running. With the system you have the only good way to wire it is direct to the battery bank. The negative 2/0 from the alt can be directly stacked on top of the main engine ground cable, which runs back to the battery bank, provided it is also 2/0... DO NOT use the engine metal as a path to the main engine ground. The two lugs need to be under the same bolt and physically mating with each other.. Where ever the alt + feeds to is the closest you can v-sense on the + side. This is why high performance alts are fed directly to the house bank, for the best performance...

Ok, so I'll run the charging cable from the alt to the battery bank. I only intend to have one bank anyway. Although was considering leaving the switch in place and having another place to hook up a second battery if need be. I think for now I will delet the switch and run directly from the alternator to the battery bank. I have seen some small jumper battery packs that can be plugged into the wall, charged up and then just stowed away. Will keep that for emergency starting in the event that I do not monitor my batteries and run them down too far to be able to start the engine. About how many amps might my solar panels put out do you think? Say on average for panels this size in the south.

 

[emergpa1]

Ok, so I'll run the charging cable from the alt to the battery bank. I only intend to have one bank anyway. Although was considering leaving the switch in place and having another place to hook up a second battery if need be. I think for now I will delet the switch and run directly from the alternator to the battery bank. I have seen some small jumper battery packs that can be plugged into the wall, charged up and then just stowed away. Will keep that for emergency starting in the event that I do not monitor my batteries and run them down too far to be able to start the engine. About how many amps might my solar panels put out do you think? Say on average for panels this size in the south.

after looking at my diagram, I don't think I can actually eliminate the switch. Because it is the switch that carries current from the house bank to the starter. I will simply switch the cable from the common busbar to the positive terminal on the house bank.

 

[emergpa1]

Just for fun, me right now. CAlm waters light fog Jekyll Island Harbor Marina

 

[emergpa1]

Pipes from solar should be sized for minimal voltage drop. Aim for 1-2% max. The alt + can be led to the switch but then the closest you can v-sense, on the + side, is the "C" post of the battery switch. This inhibits performance and still allows you to blow alternator diodes if inadvertently passing through OFF with the motor running. With the system you have the only good way to wire it is direct to the battery bank. The negative 2/0 from the alt can be directly stacked on top of the main engine ground cable, which runs back to the battery bank, provided it is also 2/0... DO NOT use the engine metal as a path to the main engine ground. The two lugs need to be under the same bolt and physically mating with each other.. Where ever the alt + feeds to is the closest you can v-sense on the + side. This is why high performance alts are fed directly to the house bank, for the best performance...

. I've got a serious and potentially very expensive problem. I am underway from Jekyll Island to you new Smyrna Beach. Some of it is intercoastal waterway and having to run the engine a lot. Right now we are at anchor off Cumberland Island and will go outside tomorrow and the day after. So the engine will be running less than I hope. My Belmar battery monitor is saying that my alternator is overcharging my batteries. It is the Belmar smart gauge. Whenever I run the engine I get an error 03 code which is the code for overcharging batteries. Indeed it does seem to be over charging the batteries as when I turned everything off and looked at the battery charge it was almost 14 V. I have gone into the regulator and reprogrammed it to turn everything down as low as it can go as far as bulk voltage and float voltage but it is still overcharging. To begin with I would like to get a fundamental idea of what might be happening. In other words what would cause my Belmar 614 smart external regulator to miss read the batteries. Too much resistance? Which wire should I look at. I hope I can get some good help as soon as possible as this is a pretty critical issue.

 

[emergpa1]

. I've got a serious and potentially very expensive problem. I am underway from Jekyll Island to you new Smyrna Beach. Some of it is intercoastal waterway and having to run the engine a lot. Right now we are at anchor off Cumberland Island and will go outside tomorrow and the day after. So the engine will be running less than I hope. My Belmar battery monitor is saying that my alternator is overcharging my batteries. It is the Belmar smart gauge. Whenever I run the engine I get an error 03 code which is the code for overcharging batteries. Indeed it does seem to be over charging the batteries as when I turned everything off and looked at the battery charge it was almost 14 V. I have gone into the regulator and reprogrammed it to turn everything down as low as it can go as far as bulk voltage and float voltage but it is still overcharging. To begin with I would like to get a fundamental idea of what might be happening. In other words what would cause my Belmar 614 smart external regulator to miss read the batteries. Too much resistance? Which wire should I look at. I hope I can get some good help as soon as possible as this is a pretty critical issue.

Here is one idea, see the picture below. This wire is currently a very short run from the Belmar to the positive post on the alternator. Should I run it directly to the positive post on the battery? The cable from the alternator runs directly to the positive battery bank terminal. It is a 2/0, and the round-trip is approximately 30 feet. I do not have any cable on the boat with me long enough to do that. Ibut maybe I could scavenge something off the shore charger and run a trial cable. Just a straight run from the alternator out of the hatch into the companionway and down through the center of the salon to the batteries under the rearmost settee. And awkward situation at best given we will be in some rough water tomorrow. Could you comment Maine sail? What would be the best way to disable the alternator?

 

[emergpa1]

Clarification, in the second sentence above, "this wire" is meant to mean the red power wire as seen in the photograph below from the Belmar 614 smart regulator owners manual

 

[Maine Sail]

Clarification, in the second sentence above, "this wire" is meant to mean the red power wire as seen in the photograph below from the Belmar 614 smart regulator owners manual

What is the actual battery terminal voltage when charging, as measured with a DVM? Where is the Smart Gauge connected to the system? It should be direct connected to the house bank terminals..

If your Lifelines are over 14.4V, at the battery terminals, then yes that is too high.. Need more info....

Where is regulator red v-sense connected?
Where is regulator red/B+ connected?
Where is regulator black/neg connected?
Where are the Smart Gauge wires connected?
Are you using a temp sensor for the batts with the regulator?

 

[emergpa1]

What is the actual battery terminal voltage when charging, as measured with a DVM? Where is the Smart Gauge connected to the system? It should be direct connected to the house bank terminals.. If your Lifelines are over 14.4V, at the battery terminals, then yes that is too high.. Need more info.... Where is regulator red v-sense connected? Where is regulator red/B+ connected? Where is regulator black/neg connected? Where are the Smart Gauge wires connected? Are you using a temp sensor for the batts with the regulator?

Thanks, I'm pretty worried. 1 not sure the terminal voltage but will check tomorrow 2. Smart gauge directly to the pos and neg terminals of the first battery in the three battery bank. with 28 inches round trip, very short run, with 16 AWG. 3. Red v sense to the battery right under the positive cable, 2/0, from the alternator to the battery bank, first battery again. 4. Regulator red/b+ connected to the alternator output, mating with the positive 2/0 cable that, again, runs directly to the bank pos terminal. 5. Regulator black runs directly to the negative post of the last battery in the bank, under the grounding cable that goes back to the engine block. That is where the alternator connects also, at the same bolt on the engine block. Temp sensors for all chargers in place and confirmed working.

 

[Maine Sail]

Thanks, I'm pretty worried. 1 not sure the terminal voltage but will check tomorrow 2. Smart gauge directly to the pos and neg terminals of the first battery in the three battery bank. with 28 inches round trip, very short run, with 16 AWG. 3. Red v sense to the battery right under the positive cable, 2/0, from the alternator to the battery bank, first battery again. 4. Regulator red/b+ connected to the alternator output, mating with the positive 2/0 cable that, again, runs directly to the bank pos terminal. 5. Regulator black runs directly to the negative post of the last battery in the bank, under the grounding cable that goes back to the engine block. That is where the alternator connects also, at the same bolt on the engine block. Temp sensors for all chargers in place and confirmed working.

Disconnect the regulator temp sensor and re-test. How cold are the batts right now? May be compensating voltage up dud to low batt temp.. Also check fuse in v-sense wire..

 

[emergpa1]

Disconnect the regulator temp sensor and re-test. How cold are the batts right now? May be compensating voltage up dud to low batt temp.. Also check fuse in v-sense wire..

So, disconnect the temp sensor and run the engine/alternator? Ok, will do tomorrow and see. Can't tonight as at anchor and the admiral is asleep in the salon, she's been through a lot today, and tomorrow we head out of Cumberland sound into the Atlantic, NW winds, kinda of rough. Headed about 48 hours to new Smyrna, Fla. I'll let her sleep. Batteries were probably around 50'F. Also will check the voltage at the terminals while charging tomorrow, if higher than 14.4, how can I stop the alternator? I programmed the balmar to lowest possible settings allowed for float and bulk, voltage wise, not time/duration wise. Also, do you think the regulator red+ wire is ok at the alternator output?

 

[emergpa1]

Disconnect the regulator temp sensor and re-test. How cold are the batts right now? May be compensating voltage up dud to low batt temp.. Also check fuse in v-sense wire..

Ps, I did check the fuse! It was fine.

 

[emergpa1]

Ps, I did check the fuse! It was fine.

10 miles ENE st itis time. Rn the engine this am. No probs. suspect it was temp comp, current pos. 3002.4N 8008.6 W beg 173 speed 4kn tux Maine! U r thebest!